After retiring, Jones returns to octagon tonight

Published 7:38 pm, Friday, June 29, 2012

After a stint in retirement Jarret Jones will return to the octagon during 24/7 Entertainment's "America's Most Wanted" card at 7:30 p.m. today at Odessa's Far West Event Center.

Jones, who co-owns Basin CrossFit along with Jeff Fraley, who will be making his pro debut, said he got the itch once he expanded the gym to full time hours.

"Some good things have happened since I announced my retirement. Now I work full time at Basin CrossFit and with that I can train two or three times a day," Jones said. "Before, I was having a hard time making time for the job, training, the kid and the wife and now I can work and train at the same time. And now with shows being here I also don't have to travel. In the past I had to travel all over for a fight. I love fighting here with all the fans, friends, and family. It's definitely about it being in the home town."

Jones will go to war with San Angelo's Alejandro Siller in a 170-pound match.

"For the first time ever out of all my amateur and pro fights, I'm not having to cut weight," Jones said. "I think it's going to help my cardio, I'm not going to be tired. I've been training every day."

Besides training at Basin CrossFit, Jones has also used West Texas MMA and Rhino Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) to help him get ready for this fight.

"Jarret has been coming by and training with us due to having Bruno Bastos here along with Luan Carvalho and Rico Bastos (Bruno's brother)," Rhino BJJ's Brad Barnes said. "I know that he is in great hands under the care of striking coach Michael Nauman and his BJJ coach KC Windham. He has looked very crisp during rounds with us and his transitional game has continued to improve. I expect to see Jarret get a great finish and show yet again why he is one of the most dangerous Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in MMA that I have seen."

Jones added that he can't wait for his return to the cage but needed to be sure that he thanked the people that are making his return possible.

"I'd like to thank the guys at Rhino BJJ for letting me train over there as well with Barnes and Bruno Bastos," Jones said. "I would also like to thank my team, coaches and training partners at West Texas MMA and athletes at Basin CrossFit."

Rhino BJJ will also have Carvalho and Caleb Hudson that will represent the school at tonight's event.

Carvalho is a Brazilian visiting the United States for a couple months so that he could train with Bruno Bastos in order to get ready for the BJJ Worlds.

"When this came up, he got excited," Barnes said. "This is part of his vacation, he loves to compete. He is an awesome guy and is a blessing to have around because of how technical he is and how good of a teacher he is. Every time we train he helps me with something."

Carvalho will take on Lubbock's Gino Davila in a 140-pound bout that will feature differing styles.

"Davila is a brawler and it's no secret that Carvalho will try and put him on the canvas and work for submissions," Barnes said. "Carvalho wants the MMA fans of Midland and specifically our gym to know that he is going to fight like a warrior and to represent his team, his coaches and himself with heart and determination."

The night will also feature a rematch between Odessa's Samuel Trevino and Midland's Caleb Hudson.

"Hudson was doing pretty good in the first fight and Sammy knocked him out with an overhand right," Barnes said. "Hudson has the skill to compete at this level and have success. We expect a lot out of him in the sense that we demand him to give 100 percent in competition and that he really buys in to what we plan for strategy and training. He wants to go out and show everyone that he can make the most out of a second chance and leave with his hand raised."

MMA Notes: Tickets can be purchased at the Far West Event Center's box office. ...Seminole's Luis Luna will also appear on the fight card. ...Felipe Costa will conduct a seminar today at 10 a.m. at West Texas MMA. For more information call 432-684-6908. ...For more information on Basin CrossFit go to www.basincrossfit.com, for West Texas MMA go to www.texasbrasa.com, and for Rhino BJJ go to www.rhinobjj.com.